The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more specifically, to an electrical connector with a multitude of adjacent and/or superimposed contacts and side walls surrounding at least part of the contact element region.
Conventional electrical connector systems, as shown in FIG. 3, consist of a first connector 1 mounted on a first electrical printed circuit board (not shown in figure) and a second connector 2 mounted on a second electrical printed circuit board 3. The connectors in each case comprise a multitude of contact elements that come into contact with each other when the connectors are mated, enabling an electrical connection between the circuit boards.
The contacts of the first connector, or more precisely, the contact region containing the contacts, is surrounded by side walls. The side walls act as a guide to ensure that corresponding connector contacts engage during the mating of the connectors.
The second connector consists of two connector halves 2a and 2b that are mounted on opposite sides of the second circuit board. This arrangement is advantageous in that a particularly high number of contacts can be accommodated in the available space. On the other hand, problems are commonly encountered when the connectors are being mated, in particular due to tolerances of the thickness of the second circuit board. As a result, it is difficult to join the first and second connectors to establish an electrical connection between the circuit boards.
An object of the present invention is to develop a board mounted electrical connector that can be mated with a second electrical connector under circumstances where the board thickness varies within a tolerance.
This and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing an electrical connector that has a multitude of adjacent contacts and side walls. At least part of the side walls are flexibly moveable, and the side walls are positioned so that they surround at least part of the contact region.
Partially due to the flexible design of the side walls, electrical connectors, which are not dimensioned or arranged according to exact specifications, can be duly guided to a second electrical connector. As a result, the need to exactly adjust the measurements of the second electrical connector which is to be brought into contact with the first electrical connector, and hence also the measurements of the circuit board or of another device on which the second electrical connector is mounted, can fluctuate to a relatively large extent, without jeopardising the regulatory mating ability of the connectors.
Other advantages, and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.